The British government announced on Wednesday new immigration fees, and funding changes to border security over the next 12 months.
The announcement comes just weeks before the introduction of a new point-based system for managing migration. The system will help ensure high-skilled workers needed by the Britain's economy to come to the country and put in place a licensing system for businesses who want to recruit from overseas.
"We believe that it is fair that those who benefit most from using our immigration system should help fund it. We welcome the contribution that legal migrants make to the economy and cultural life in the UK and we have ensured that these fees, which will usher in the biggest reforms to the immigration system in a generation, are at levels that will not damage our international competitiveness," said Immigration Minister Liam Byrne.
The new fees are part of a challenging program of reform to the immigration system the British government has committed to over the next 12 months, which include the introduction of on-the-spot fines for employers who don't make the right-to-work checks, the introduction of a single border force with police-like powers for frontline staff, and compulsory ID cards for those foreign nationals who want to stay.
The government has completed the global roll out of fingerprint checks on anyone who applies for a visa to come to Britain.
The measures which are expected to form the biggest shake-up of the immigration system in Britain's history, will allow Britain to continue to reap the benefits of migration while preventing abuse of the system.
Source: Xinhua
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